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Challenge

 

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What Is Challenge?

We define challenge as continual questioning and brainstorming to find a better way. Doing this well involves offering ideas, asking questions and listening when others do the same. Challenge is an opportunity to learn, not a chance to dismiss another person’s idea or show off.

Why Is This Important?

Imagine a team where everyone feels comfortable offering new and diverse ideas — even when they are radically different. They freely raise concerns and engage in productive discussions — even when it’s uncomfortable. Leaders aren’t just willing to hear concerns and ideas — they actively invite them. Such a team is more likely to foster innovation, effectively solve problems and create value for the company, customers and society.

 

Principle in Brief

Our approach to challenge utilizes Karl Popper’s view of the scientific method which he called “Science as Falsification”: After developing a theory, strive to disprove or find flaws in it, rather than trying to defend or justify it. As Popper said: “Every genuine test of a theory is an attempt to falsify it, or to refute it. It is easy to obtain confirmations, or verifications, for nearly every theory — if we look for confirmations.”

Truth is not what an expert or someone in the hierarchy declares is true. Truth is what stands the tests of evidence and criticism. To discover the truth, we encourage challenge — continual questioning and brainstorming to find a better way. Challenge is an opportunity to learn, not a chance to kill another person’s idea or show off.  

A quality challenge requires having the courage and willingness to respectfully question anyone’s (especially leaders’) decisions, actions, proposals or ideas. Challengers need to participate with intellectual honesty in the spirit of constructive improvement and solutions, rather than opposing something because it was “not invented here.” They also need to make clear that they are challenging the idea, not the person.

A challenge process is essential for important decisions. This may occur at a formal meeting where people with different aptitudes and expertise — those with knowledge about the key drivers of success — discuss, brainstorm and improve outcomes. But knowledge sharing and challenge can and should also happen in informal settings, such as one-on-one discussions, casual conversations or small group meetings.

To drive creative destruction internally, nothing and no one can be immune to challenge. Supervisors at every level must help foster an open environment that invites challenge and embraces change. They can solicit challenge by asking open-ended questions such as “What are we missing here?” or “Is there a better way to do this?” or “What is possible if we fully applied our principles?”

If you find that your views are rarely challenged, perhaps you are giving the impression that challenge is not welcome. No matter your role in the company, you are obligated to actively seek knowledge and alternative points of view and to proactively share your knowledge and challenge so others can benefit. Doing so helps make challenge a normal and natural way of working, which is vital to our long-term success.

 
 

Why Do the Scientific Method and Challenge Go Together?

 

The Scientific Method helps us advance knowledge by overcoming the tendencies to seek confirming evidence and anchor to initial ideas. At Koch, challenge allows us to discover better ways forward by critically examining ideas for gaps, flaws and weaknesses.   

Although this may seem confrontational, it's not about arguing. It's about evaluating competing ideas to identify the best ones. When approached with respect and the intent of improvement, challenge helps us gain the right knowledge to make informed decisions.

 
Here are examples of how seeking challenge in line with the scientific method might sound: 
  • Can you look over this and tell me what you think is missing?  
  • Play devil’s advocate for me. What’s wrong with this approach?  
  • Is there anything we need to re-think?  
  • What’s the best part of this plan? What might be the worst part of this plan?  
  • Can you think of a better way to do this? 
Here are some examples of what offering challenge with the scientific method in mind might sound like:  
  • I see a potential problem with...  
  • I don’t understand how this works – can you tell me more?  
  • What happens if...  
  • Here’s another idea to consider...  
  • Are we ready if this is far less successful than we think it will be? What if it is far more successful than we expect?
 
 
 

Understand It Better

 
 

Videos to Explore

 
 
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Examples

One part of challenge is offering ideas and asking questions. Another is reacting appropriately when others ask you questions and offer suggestions. Below are some examples that give you a sense of how important it is that we’re all good at both.

 
 
 

Connection to the Five Dimensions

 

Here is how and why Challenge shows up in the five dimensions: 

  • Knowledge Dimension — challenge (questioning and brainstorming to find a better way) helps us generate, share and apply useful knowledge. 
 
 
 

Give It a Try

The power of these principles happens through application. There’s no substitute for learning as you apply.